1. Cold War Thaw Nikita Khrushchev came to power in 1956
He instituted destalinization or a denouncing of Stalin’s purges, encouraging peaceful competition with the capitalist nations

2. Easing of Cold War Tensions
Khrushchev was replaced by Leonid Brezhnev, 1964
The US and USSR promote a period of détente, or lessening of tension involving 1)arms control 2)cultural exchanges 3)trade agreements

3. Gorbachev in the Soviet Union
In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union
He instituted two major reforms
Perestroika - a restructuring of the failing state-run command economy/free market reforms
Glasnost – ‘openness’ – the policy ended censorship and encouraged people to discuss openly the problems in the S.U.

4. Causes for the Fall of the USSR
Leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev
Openness to democratic ideas
Reshaping of economy and government
Economic problems
Freedom movement in Eastern Europe

5. Effects of the Fall of the Soviet Union
Formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States
Loss of role as world superpower
End of the Cold War
Economic hardships
Conflicts between procommunist and prodemocratic groups
Minority revolts and civil conflicts

6. Russia after the Soviet Union
Boris Yeltsin became the first president in 1991
Changing the state run economy to market run was the biggest challenge
Businesses and farms were privatized
Food shortages and unemployment were persistent problems
Vladimir Putin took over in 1999

7. Russia Under Putin Vladimir Putin took over in 1999
Putin curbed the power or regional leader and exerted control over the Duma
Putin’s policies have led to economic growth, but there are big concerns over his suppression of dissent and the future of Russia’s democracy